Found Dragon

Rounding another corner, deeper in the cave than I should be, I felt something I wasn’t prepared for. An earthquake. I thought I was okay at first, but a moment later, there was a deep rumbling from inside the cave. It seemed to pass over me and when it hit the entrance, I heard rocks falling. I raced to the entrance, trying to get out before a cave-in hit, but as I approached, rocks were flying at me and I was forced to retreat. 

When everything settled, I was trapped. I forced myself not to panic as I used the head light to look at the solid wall of rocks in front of me. I was afraid to try and dig myself out as rocks still fell from the top. I felt a bit more panic and I realized no one knew exactly where I was and might not realize I was missing for 2 or 3 days. Finally, needing to do something to avoid panic, I decided to go deeper into the cave. 

Rocks inside the cave had also been moved around. A wall that had been previously blocked off was now partially open. I spent several minutes pulling rocks from the top and eventually was able to look through. I pulled my head and shoulders through so I could get a good look, but the rock wall wasn’t as stable as I’d hoped and I started a rock slide. 

I tried to cover my head as I fell down into a deep pit, the rocks sliding along with me. I thought I’d probably die before I reached the bottom, but surprisingly I eventually came to rest against a large object without suffering any injuries. I got up and tried to look around. My light had cracked in the fall. My cell phone though was unharmed. I used the light to look around the room I was in. 

I’d fallen against a very large creature. I realized it must have been a dinosaur. It was huge and scaly…I reasoned it probably hadn’t decayed or fossilized because of being in the mountain or something. I wasn’t really sure, but I was pretty sure it was dead. It hadn’t moved and wasn’t breathing. 

My curiosity made me forget my fear temporarily as I made my way to the creature’s head. I’d never seen anything like this in a science book before or at the museum. It had died laying down, its head resting on the front legs.  As I walked further around I saw more of it, massive wings and razor sharp talons. It was hard to take in the sheer enormity of the creature. I thought there was a good chance this was a new discovery and I wondered if I died in the cave, would I still get credit for finding it first. 

The creature was in amazing condition. Its skin was still firm, it didn’t smell rotten or anything. The eyes were closed, but I wanted to see if the eye remained. I forced one of the massive eyes open. The eyes still remained. I looked at it, holding my phone in my mouth. I finally located the pupil and as I did, the eye focused on me. 

I shrieked, my phone falling to the cave floor and going dark. I scrambled backwards, panicked, now in complete darkness. The creature didn’t move, at least it didn’t make a sound. I took a few deep breaths, hearing my pulse pound and nothing else. “It’s dead, you’re crazy. Stop freaking out,” I told myself, searching for my phone on my hands and knees. There was literally no light without it. 

I finally found the phone and turned the light back on. The eye had closed. The creature still wasn’t moving or breathing. I reasoned no creature would let something open its eye and not move, so it had to be dead. Doubts echoed quickly. Why haven’t you ever heard of this creature before? Is it dangerous? What is it? Could there be more in the cave? I told myself I was being ridiculous and worked to remain calm. 

I distracted myself by seeing if there was a better way out of the mountain from my new location. Unfortunately it seemed the only ways out were at the top of the pit and the walls were smooth at the bottom. The way I’d come looked to be my best bet, but the rocks were incredibly unstable and climbing up was nearly impossible. I finally decided to take a break and try again later. 

I went back to the dead, the hundred percent dead, creature and tried to look for more clues as to what it was. It could obviously fly…I crawled up the creature’s tail and pretty much just walked up his back. The wings were curled up at the top and weighed too much for me to move. I explored the creature’s back, went down his shoulders and neck and checked out his snout. There wasn’t much else of him to check out. 

Finally, not sure what else to do, I settled into a comfortable position and decided to take a twenty minute nap. The whole situation was about to send me into a panic and I prayed when I woke up, it would because the rescue party had arrived. 

I woke up to an aftershock. More rocks started falling and I quickly scurried down the creature’s shoulder and slid up against it, practically under it. It was a good defense, rocks hit the creature and bounced off, but I remained safe. Finally the shaking stopped and a minute later so did the sounds of falling rocks, so I left my hiding space. 

My chances of getting out seemed even worse now as the entrance I’d come through looked blocked now and none of the others had magically opened up. I wondered how long it would take me to die in the cave and tried not to cry at the prospect. I distracted myself with the only thing available. The massive creature. 

I decided to try the eye again, this time going for the right one. Hopefully this one wouldn’t move, although I vowed to be ready for it. This eye I also had to force open, but it stuck up, so I could let go. I took my phone out of my mouth and examined the eye. The pupil looked like it was focused on me, but I thought that was probably coincidence. Or maybe it was like the magic eye painting or something because the eye actually seemed focused on me no matter where I was. Creepy, I thought. I tried to close it only to find it was stuck up. 

“It’s like it’s alive,” I murmured to myself. 

“I am alive,” I heard in my head. “You’re highly annoying.” 

I just froze for a second, then I panicked. I screamed and backed up blindly, falling on sharp rocks. I turned and tried to scramble up them, but it hadn’t worked when I was being careful and it didn’t work when I was in a panic. Eventually I just stood at the bottom, exhausted and terrified and having no idea what to do. 

“Are you done?” it asked. 

“Yes,” I whispered, fear making my voice practically inaudible. “What are you?” 

“A dragon. You’re a human?” 

“Yes,” I said, still whispering. 

“What are you doing here?” 

“It was an accident. I can’t get out,” I explained. 

“Yes, I caught that. What are you doing here?” 

“I was exploring the cave. What are you?” 

“I already answered that, I’m a dragon,” he grumbled. 

“Where did you come from?” 

“That’s too difficult to answer. I came here to sleep undisturbed. You’re ruining that.” 

“Please tell me how to get out,” I begged. “I’ll leave. I won’t tell anyone.” 

“It’s too much work to get you out. Just be quiet until you die so I can go back to sleep.” 

“There’s nothing you can do to help me?” I whimpered, my newest hope dashed. 

“That’s not what I said, I said it was too much work,” he corrected.

“I’ll be quieter a lot faster if you just help me get out.” 

“Same argument can be made if I squish you and that’s a lot easier.” 

My pulse started hammering. I was sure I was about to be killed at any moment. “Why haven’t you yet?” I challenged, trying to hide my terror. 

“Because I was hoping you’d shut up, but if that’s what it takes…” The dragon’s tail came flying in my direction. I screamed and dove, my cell phone going flying. I got up shakily, now in complete darkness. The next blow hit me straight in the stomach, sending me flying into the cave wall. There was a flash of blinding light when I struck the wall and I assumed that indicated/was a head injury. I moaned as I tried to focus. The dragon was trying to hit me again, but his tail couldn’t reach that far back. 

“Shut up! Shut up!” he ordered childishly. 

I coughed and tried to roll over, making sure to remain against the wall. I heard my cell phone break as the dragon’s tail sent it flying across the cave floor. “Now you’re going to have to listen to me moan until I die,” I taunted softly. “And I’m not going to be quiet.” 

“I’ll get up and eat you if need be,” he threatened. 

“Can you? You’re too fucking big to turn around,” I argued. 

The cave shook as the giant animal tried to move. Rocks went flying and I covered my head, wondering if I’d be buried in an avalanche of rocks. I could tell I’d been right though, the cave we were in wasn’t big enough for the creature to turn around. He tried to bash me with his tail again, but the rocks had created enough shelter to prevent that. I laughed softly. “Looks like I was right,” I taunted. 

“I have other means,” he warned. 

As I was about to respond, another aftershock hit. By this time there were enough rocks around me that none of the big ones falling were able to hit me. It was bad news for the dragon though. I could hear him cursing as he tried to clear the rocks off the floor he’d been laying on. “Look what you’ve done!” he scolded. 

“I didn’t know I could make earthquakes,” I said sarcastically in a stunned voice. “Cool!” 

“You made me move,” he argued. 

“No I didn’t. Your own impatience did that. How long have you been here? How long would it have taken me to die of thirst or run out of air? Obviously falling rocks are a problem right now. You should have stayed sleeping.” 

“I would have if you’d left me alone. It’s hard to sleep when someone is forcing your eyes open,” he growled. 

“Well I thought you were dead,” I snapped. “Dragons are fucking myths. I thought you were an undiscovered dinosaur. Excuse me for fucking around with a corpse.” 

“Why were you exploring a cave to begin with? Don’t you know that’s dangerous? Stupid human. Stupid tiny human…Come out from under there and I’ll help you out of the cave,” he offered. 

“You’re lying!” I argued indignantly. “I’m not that stupid.” 

“If you make me wake up my demon form, then my nap will be completely ruined and I won’t be able to fall back to sleep,” he explained. 

“I don’t know what that means. How would you get me out of here? Freeing my soul from my body? Not what I’m looking for.” 

“The most recent shaking opened up a hole in the top. I’ll get you as far as there,” he offered. I wondered if he was telling the truth. I did want to get out more than anything. I didn’t want to die down there. 

“How do I know you won’t eat me?” I asked. 

“Because I’m not hungry. I was trying to sleep.” He responded annoyed. 

“How do I know you won’t squish me?” I tried. 

“You don’t, but if you don’t come out, I will find a way in and when I do, I’ll kill you. I will wake up my demon form if need be and then I’ll be very angry.” 

“Well what’s at the top,” I asked. 

“I don’t know,” he snapped indignantly. “I’m not going to go check. Come out here and I’ll get you out of this cave.” 

Finally, cursing myself for trusting him, I crawled out from under the rocks. I couldn’t tell where the dragon was or where I was going. There was no light at all. When there weren’t any rocks around me, I felt the razor sharp claws of one talon circle around me. I prepared myself to be cut to pieces, but the dragon kept his word. Using his other three legs to walk us up the side of the cave. More rocks fell with every step and I was very intimidated by how easily he was able to dig into the mountain side to carry both of us to the top. 

He left me at the top of a shallow cliff. The path forward was completely blocked by rocks. The dragon was already back at the bottom, working to get the rocks out of his way. “Hey! Hey! There’s nowhere to go up here!” 

“That’s not my problem. Shut up!” 

“I’m just going to fall back down there!”

“But you’ll die in the fall. Be quiet!” 

I screamed once in frustration, but then tried to do something more useful. I felt my way across the wall. There were a lot of small rocks I could move and I did, tossing them on the dragon below. He grumbled but didn’t say anything. I didn’t really want to keep digging either. The rocks were wet, it was disgusting, and I didn’t have any light to see if there were dry spots. 

I kept digging though, looking for a way forward, but it seemed like I was just hitting wetter and wetter dirt. It occurred to me I might be digging into the underside of a lake or something. I grinned sadistically. If I was going to die, I might as well get the dragon wet too. I kept digging. It got wetter and thicker until I felt something new, cold water rolling down my arm. 

I froze for a second and that was all it took. As soon as the water could flow downstream it did and the rocks quickly tumbled away. I tried to scurry to the edge, but was quickly swept over the side of the cliff by a flood of rocks and water. 

I landed on the dragon’s back, as he worked his way up the mountain wall, and surprisingly managed to hold onto a wing. “Let go of me,” he ordered immediately. “You caused this. Now I have to find a new nest!” 

“Tough shit. If I let go, I’ll die.” 

“I’m going to go for a long swim when I get to the top,” he warned threateningly. He continued to climb up the cave wall. Once we got past the water, he used his tail to bash the rock wall the rest of the way. I heard rushing water below me and prayed I didn’t fall. I knew it would mean death. 

The dragon walked around the side of the cave wall a few times, trying to find a way out. There wasn’t one except for where the water was coming from. The dragon finally seemed to decide that was his best option. I braced myself for rushing water and rocks. Surprisingly though, when he tucked his wings against his back to fit, I got trapped between the wing and his side. While it was incredibly claustrophobic, it did protect me from rushing water and the rocks scraping against the dragon’s tough hide. 

He wiggled through the opening. I would have been scraped off his back if his wing hadn’t protected me. As it was, I could still feel the rocks pushing in on us from all sides. It occurred to me I might just die trapped with the dragon. Then no one would give me credit for the discovery I thought randomly. The idea made me frown despite my impending death. 

When we finally did emerge from rocks it was into water. The dragon’s wings opened and I was freed. I tried to hold on him though as he shot towards the surface like a rocket, his wings propelling him. I managed to grab the very tip/end of his tail and tried to hold on. 

When we surfaced I was so happy to find the smallest amount of light. It was coming in through the ceiling where water was dripping through. I gasped for breath and treaded water next to the giant animal. If I stayed close to him, he seemed to block the current. 

“You still bothering me girl? Go away. You’ve completely ruined my nest and I have nowhere to sleep. I’m done helping you.” 

“I’ll leave you alone as soon as I don’t think it means my death. I don’t want to die,” I pleaded. 

“Few creatures do. It doesn’t mean I need to help you,” he argued. 

“You won’t even notice if I sit on your back,” I argued/claimed, trying to climb up the nearest wing. The dragon lifted its wing and sent me flying. I landed in water and quickly swam to the surface. 

The dragon was swimming away from me. There was a pretty strong current and I was afraid where I’d go if I was swept downstream. I chased after the dragon, swimming as quickly as possible. He was far faster than me and didn’t seem as bothered by the current. 

I finally hit a stroke of luck when my knee banged into a shelf in the water. I climbed up and was standing in waist deep water. I made a little better progress, but what really helped me was the dragon had gotten stuck. He was forced to dig his way forward, which gave me plenty of time to catch up to him. The question was what to do then. I already knew how powerful his tail was. If he caught me underneath him, I’d be crushed. I was running out of time too, because he’d almost created a path for himself. 

Finally, just as he was crawling forward, I sprinted part way up his tail and held on for dear life. Surprisingly he ignored me and focused on forging his way ahead. He made very quick progress. The water continued to get shallower, which was only a problem because the top of the cave wasn’t getting any higher. The dragon’s progress slowed. Eventually, he stopped. 

“Tired?” I asked softly. I was and all I was doing was holding onto him. 

“It’s getting to the point where using power would be easier,” he explained. 

“I don’t understand what you mean,” I told him. 

He didn’t answer. The next moment though I knew exactly what he was talking about. Terrifying…power washed over me, leaking from the dragon. Nervous, not sure what type of creature I’d been messing with, I slowly crawled off him. I heard him laughing in my head. “Now you leave?” he asked amused, his tail wrapping around my waist. “But we’ve made it so far together.” 

“What are you?” I asked in a shaky voice. 

“I told you, I’m a dragon. Oh wait, are you referring to being a demigod?” 

My breath caught as I realized I had seen an image of this dragon before. But it wasn’t in a science book, it was in a religion book. Like all the ancient demigods he wasn’t real. He laughed again. “Do you regret waking me up now?” he asked rhetorically. 

The next second his power shot through the rock and it exploded outwards. The dragon made incredibly fast progress now and suddenly we emerged from the side of the mountain. Without any hesitation, the dragon launched himself into the air, taking me with him. I held onto his tail wrapped my waist, praying he didn’t let go of me. I watched the ground get farther and farther away. 

“Where are you going?” I shouted, trying to make myself heard without being aggressive or annoying. 

“I’m checking out my options. When I land I’ll set you down, unless you wanted me to release you right now…” he offered. 

“No! No,” I said quickly. “I’m fine. I was just wondering.” 

“There is no chance I’ll be able to sleep now so I need somewhere to go. I might stay on this plane, I might not, either way, I’ll need my demon body.” 

“What does that mean?” I shouted. 

“My demon body? Just that. This is my dragon body and I have a humanoid form, which I refer to as my demon body.” 

“How do you get that body?” 

“I’m looking for a large lake or ocean,” he told me, scanning the ground. “I know there is an ocean this direction.” 

“It’s full of oil,” I warned. “It’s been spilling out of a deep ocean pipe for two months now. There’s oil everywhere.” 

He made a grunt of disgust. “A human folly no doubt.” 

“It wasn’t our fault,” I argued quickly. “The stupid UNA hit it with an illegal submarine. They caused the giant gash that no one can seem to close.” 

“The UNA (united nations of amerria) aren’t humans?” he asked.  

I was confused for a second. “Of course they’re humans. What else would they be?”

“I said a human folly. If they’re human, than even if they’re your enemy it is still the fault of the human species.” 

“Yeah, that’s true,” I agreed. “I guess I didn’t understand what you meant at first.” 

“Well, if the ocean is full of black crap, where would you suggest I go?” 

I thought for a second. “How much water are we talking about? The Appie River is really wide and deep and on private land so it’s usually pretty clean.” 

“Where’s this river located in connection to the mountain?” 

“It runs west through the valley. I guess I don’t know exactly. North?” 

“Do you mean south?” he asked. 

“Maybe?” 

“Yes, that is very helpful,” he grumbled sarcastically. 

“I’m sorry. I really am trying to be helpful,” I pleaded/promised.

“Now that you know I’m a god, sure,” he agreed, unimpressed. 

“I didn’t mean to wake you up,” I promised/cried.

He sighed. “You did mean south. I think that is the river you speak of and it is wide enough. How deep is it?” 

“Some places are a mile deep, other places are more shallow.” 

The dragon seemed to shrug and then descended at a rapid rate. I bit my tongue to avoid screaming. The ground was approaching much too fast in my opinion. At the last second, his wings caught the air and we slowed immediately. I saw he’d picked the wide lake/basin right at the top of a very high cliff. The waterfall had pulled more than one person to their death. 

He landed in the water, his tail releasing me as he dove under. I quickly swam for the side before the current got me. I wasn’t exactly that strong of a swimmer. I hadn’t made much progress when the dragon surfaced and I settled for grabbing his tail. I didn’t ask because I didn’t want him to say no and instead, just started to carefully climb up his tail. 

The dragon ignored me as I made it up to his back where I was able to sit down. I did, shivering from the ice cold water. The dragon swam against the current just hard enough he didn’t move and he seemed to be hacking something up. “Are you okay?” I asked. 

“In what sense? I’m awake, so no, but yes I’m fine. Just getting my demon body,” he reminded me. The next second I heard the plunk of something falling into the water. A moment later a naked man popped out of the river and pulled himself up on the dragon’s back as well. 

It was easy to determine this was the dragon’s demon form. The same power I’d felt briefly around the dragon in the mountain surrounded him. It made the air sticky, a thousand times stronger than it had been before, a million times stronger. I tried to remain calm and just breathe around my panic. It almost felt like his power had chased away the air. 

“H-Hi,” I stuttered. 

The demon looked at me with an amused grin. “How much longer are you going to hang around me girl? You look like you’re going to have a heart attack.” 

“I’m scared,” I admitted in a whisper. 

“Most humans are,” he reasoned/agreed. Then faster than I could follow he’d moved across the dragon’s back and was kneeling right in front of me. I shrieked unable to stop myself and tried to scurry backwards. He grabbed my throat in a firm but non-choking grip and pinned me to the dragon’s back, kneeling over me, his free hand next to my shoulder. 

“Where are you going?” he asked amused. I made the mistake of looking into his eyes. They contained an infinity and I fell into them. I tried to look away, but my body was far behind as I fell further and deeper into his mind.